For months, country fans around the world freaked out every time Carrie Underwood uploaded a new photo. And a months-long media circus all stemmed from one note that Underwood wrote to her fan club.
That note turned into one of the biggest country music stories of 2018.
In November 2017, just days after hosting the CMA Awards for the tenth time, Underwood suffered a fall on the steps of her Nashville home. In addition to hurting her wrist so bad that she required surgery, Underwood’s face was also injured.
I just wanted let everyone know that I’m doing great. Had surgery on my wrist yesterday & all went well…even though I’ll be setting off airport metal detectors from now on…I’m so thankful for the doctors, nurses, family & friends who’ve been taking such great care of me.
— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) November 15, 2017
Initially, Underwood didn’t even mention the facial injuries. That reveal came much later (two months later, in fact) through a note she wrote to her fan club members.
As Underwood wrote in the note, her face was so severely injured that she had to have 40-50 stitches put in. She wanted her fans to know, in case she looked a little different when she was ready to step in front of the camera again:
“When I am ready to get in front of a camera, I want you all to understand why I might look a bit different. I’m hoping that, by then, the differences are minimal, but, again, I just don’t know how it’s all going to end up.”
From that moment on, people obsessed over every photo Underwood shared on social media. She refrained from showing her full face for a while, until she finally returned to the public stage in April to perform her new single, “Cry Pretty” at the ACM Awards.
After that performance, many noted that Underwood didn’t look that different, and that’s when the rumor mill started to swirl. There was speculation that she had made up the story about the fall as a guise to get plastic surgery.
Months passed, and the rumors prevailed, forcing Underwood to finally speak up about them in a August interview with Redbook:
“I’m on some magazine every other week for something crazy. It’s a little sad, because the truth is just as interesting I wish I’d gotten some awesome plastic surgery to make this [scar] look better.”
Now, in a brand-new interview with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, Underwood has revealed why it took her so long to say anything about her facial injuries in the first place. As it turns out, it’s because she was scared of the exact type of rumors that have now dominated conversations about her for months.
As Underwood explained, she was fearful that if she just kept quiet about the accident, people would notice differences in her appearance and think she decided to get plastic surgery:
“My biggest worry at the time was like, if I say nothing, then later on…I feel like people are gonna say, ‘What has she done to herself electively?’ And it definitely was not a choice.“
So that’s why Underwood decided to open up about her fall, thinking that it would prevent such rumors from spreading. But they still did.
However, Underwood now doesn’t let it all bother her too much, as she explained in her August interview with Redbook:
“But I try not to worry too much about it. My mom will be like, “Did you see they are saying this about you?” And I’ll be like, “Mama, I don’t care. I’m just trying to raise my son and live my life.”
That life includes a second baby on the way, an upcoming 2019 tour, the recent release of her new album Cry Pretty, and the debut of a new song, “Love Wins.”
You can watch the powerful music video for that song in the clip below.